ROYAL GLAM formed back in 2010 in the South Wales valleys where they took the local music scene to a new high with their leather spandex, hairspray, blistering guitar solos and 'over-the-top' vocal screams that nobody had heard the likes of since the 80's. After recording a demo in 2010, the band is self-releasing their debut album here, titled "A'n'E," which contains seven tracks.

"Devile o' Woman" leads off the album. An 80's riff leads to a balls-out scream. The vocals are indeed high in nature. According to their promo sheet, they discovered a vocal tutorial from Jim Gillette of NITRO and that's how they trained themselves to hit the high notes. Call me naïve, but some of the high notes are falsetto. An extended guitar solo that sounds a bit like something VINNY VINCENT would play is laid down towards the end, though some notes are missed. "Ain't got a Stratch on you" is a three-and-a-half-minute, fast moving song, with another riff out of the 80's. I don't get it...this music genre over-saturated the market for over a decade...why try to bring it back?

"Emergency" opens with sirens and a mid-tempo riff. I'm having a little trouble following the melody line as it is a moving target. You can hear some amateur qualities here in the music, though the vocals are impressive. Another speedy guitar solo is attempted and he hits most of the notes just fine. "Business 'n' Pleasure" opens with a mid-tempo swing. The riff is bluesy, and the vocals are high. They remind me here a bit of older KISS, without that full sound that they developed later in their career. The chord progressions are a bit odd however.

"Whispers of the Ocean" has some somber tones in the opening, and again the vocals are high in the register. He sings a bit like Jack Russell of GREAT WHITE. There is an extended instrumental passage here as well. It just doesn't seem to really go anywhere. "Vendetta" opens with semi-clean guitars that are soon distorted. The album is beginning to fall into the "mid-tempo" blues, where many of the tracks are the same pace. Again, the crush the vocals, but they need help with the riffs. "Revenge" closes the album. It's sort of a power-ballad, but without the power. It just sort of hangs out there, with soft, depressing tones and emotive vocals, never really getting off the ground.

In sum, it wasn't total garbage, but there was little to champion. You can tell this album was self-released, and there are some amateur qualities in the band. They gave it their best effort, but fell short. Society selected Glam Metal for distinction in 1991 for a reason. Sure, there are still some bands of the 80's hanging around and making new music, and most of it is bad. It's because, the riffs have all been written. There are very few successful Glam bands out there still, STEEL PANTHER is probably the most noteworthy. But, it's clear that this kind of music is not what is wanted anymore.